Improvement in machines for breaking and cleaning hemp



.- K; BOUTON.

Hemp Brke.

Patnted Oct. H, 1859,

Lm-Brunnen wnehingm, D. c.

'UNITED STATES PATENT JOHN K. BOQTON, OF LURAY, VIRGINIA.

lli/IPROVEVIENT` IN MACHINES'FOR BREAKING AND CLEANING HEVIP.

Specification forming part of Letters PatentNo. Stdt?, dated October 1l,1859.

To all whom, t may concern/.- y

Be it known that I, JOHN K. BooroN, of Luray, in the county of Page andState of Virginia, have invented and made certain new and usefulImprovements in Machinery for Breaking and Cleaning Hemp, Flax, andother Fibrous Substances; and I do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, making a part of this specificati on, inwhich Figures l and 2 are side elevations of the machine. Fig. 3 isatopview of the machine. The nature, construction, and operation of myimprovements I describe as follows, in order to enable others to beskilled in the same.

In Fig. 1 is represented a side view or vertical elevation of themachine, a a a c a being uprights, mortised and fitted to a longitudinalmiddle brace-rail, b b b, and framed onto basetimbers or sills e c c,and at d d is a feeding platform or table attached to the end of themachine, the table extendinginwardly, as at d2, and formed of boardingor of canvas, if desired.

At e e e, Figs. l and 3, is a driving-band or belt-wheel having a shaft,f, Fig. 3, attached, formed with a cam or crank near each end, as at gg, Fig. 2, and to the other, at h 7L, is a small spur-wheel, in whichgears a main driving double cog-gear wheel, I I I I, and at J J, Fig. 2,is shown the ends or heads of a cylindrical grating formed of the ribsor bars K K K K K K K K. This cylindrical grating is attached to anaxle, L L, passingthrough the heads J J. The ribs or bars K K K K K Kare sixteen in number on a large-size machine. These ribs or bars andthe heads form the main or breaking cylinders.

' In Fig. l, at m m n a, are two spur-gears, with each a small rollerattached and arranged parallel, and one above the other, rods or axlespassing through the rollers. The upper roller is adjustable up and down7its journal ends working and resting in a slot or mortise cut in theuprights a c, and to the off end of the lower roller is attached a smallpinion, o, as indicated in Fig. 2. This pinion gears into the inner setof gearing on the main cog-gear wheel I I. Immediately in front of thetwo rollers is a hurder-cylinder, l? P, either solid or hollow, buthaving formed or attached to its circumference at equal distances seriesof alternate plain an d serrated or saw-like ridges or ribs q1' q o@ q1.rIhis hurder-cylindcr has attached to one of its journal ends a doublepulley, s s t, Fig. 3.

At u a is indicated an endless apron working over and around smallrollers e o, Figs. l and 2, one of said rollers having a small pulley,w, this endless apron being connected and working to the back end of themachine.

At x :c x 00 are lever-arms jointed or pivoted to the inside of theuprights a a a a. To the front or forward ends of said arms, attachedcrosswise at equal distances apart, are swords or breakers z z z z, soarranged that they strike in between the bars or grating K K K K whenoperated.

To the ends y y y y of the lever-arms are connection or pitman rods Stdu St- 85 St, and these rods hook on below around the cams or cranks gg, formed on the axlef ofthe driving-wheel e e.

Immediately below the hurder-cylinder I? P is a concaveshaped gratingformed of suitable wires or rods, as indicated in the `end boards, Figs.l and 2, at b2 b2.

At e2 c2 is arranged and employed a fanwheel with easing c3 e3 ci. Tothe axle of the wheel is connected a band-pulley, d2 d2.

The operation of my improvements is as follows: The hempstalks aredeposited on the table or platform d d2 and fed in endwise between theswords z z z and bars K K K. The machine being set in motion, thecylindrical grating J J K K K revolves inwardly in the directionindicated by the arrows, and as the stalks of hemp pass in they arebroken by the up-and-down motion or action of the swords z z z, whichstrike against them in connection with the bars K K K. It will beperceived the blades of the swords stri-ke in between the bars orgrating K K K K, and in so doing the swords make three distinct strokesto every four and a half inches movement of the cylin der J J, orsixteen times to one complete revolution of the cylinder. The hempstalksthus first being broken pass in and between the two small rollers,(indicated by the gearing-wheels m 12,) which press or squeeze thebroken stalks and convey them between the hurder-cylinder gr qa gr andthe concave grating b2 b2 b2. The rollers indicated at m a haveprecisely the same speed as the breaking-cylinder J J K K K. Thehurder-cylinder or cleaner q r q 1' q1 must be geared so as to revolvesufficiently fast to detach the hurds or bark from the fiber of thehemp. The hemp passes between the hurder or cleaner q r q r and theconcave grating b'l b2 out onto the endless apron uu uu, and as the hemppasses thereon the blast or current of air issuing from the casing c3 cac3 blows downwardly against the hurded or cleaned hemp, and thus thepassing current counteracts the centrifugal action of the hurder orcleaner q r q1' q r, and efectually prevents the scattering of the fiberupwardly.

Having described the nature, construction, and operation of myimprovements7 what I claim as new7 and desire to have secured by LettersPatent of the United States, is as follows:

1. The combination and arrangement of the cylindrical grating J` JK K Kand lever-arms x x y y, and swords z z, and concave grating b2 b2, withthe hurder-cylinder l), formed with alternate plain edge and serratedridges or ribs g r q r, substantially as set forth and described.

2. The combination and arrangement of a fan or blast wheel, c2 c2 c2,with the hurdercylinder P q r and endless apron u u, substantially asset forth and described.

' JNO. S. HoLLINGsHEAD, JOHN S. GALLAHER, Jr.

